


Where the Light Doesn’t Reach

by CraftyGamer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Idk what I’m doing, Kelli came back, M/M, Nico is captured, Will saves the day, i needed a villain, its mostly just the two of them, like what?, lots of blood, tagging is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CraftyGamer/pseuds/CraftyGamer
Summary: A chariot race leaves Nico in the infirmary, and Will won’t let him leave. He leaves that night anyway and doesn’t return the next day. Now Will has to save him.





	Where the Light Doesn’t Reach

**Author's Note:**

> After the battle against Gaea was won, but before Trials of Apollo. They haven’t told each other how they feel yet.
> 
> This is my first fic on AO3, so I’m really excited. I’ve never publicized my work before. My AP English teacher gave me a t-shirt for my writing ability once, so I hope it’s not complete trash. Thanks for reading!

Will woke up with his head resting against an empty cot. The covers of the bed were pulled back and the Stygian Iron sword that was supposed to be propped on the opposite wall was missing.

“Dammit, Nico,” Will muttered as he rubbed his eyes. “You were supposed to stay in the infirmary.” He’d lost his only patient. He stood up and stretched, pulling himself together enough to walk to the Hades cabin. When he got there, Nico was nowhere to be found.

Other campers were beginning to wake up. “Morning, Will,” yawned the tired son of Poseidon who came up behind him. “How has Nico been? I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

“He’s gone. Missing when I... went to check on him this morning.” He flushed a little, remembering how he had fallen asleep on Nico’s lap while examining his wounds.

Percy didn’t seem surprised. “I bet he’ll turn up soon.” He shrugged, then slumped off to find Annabeth.

Several hours later, Will was getting worried. The son of Hades hadn’t returned yet. Nico had been complaining for days about how he needed to get out of the infirmary, but Will refused every time. He was so stupid, Will now realized, if he just let him take a walk or something together, Nico would never have felt so confined he had to run away. You couldn’t just keep a child if Hades locked up like that. How long was he going to stay away, anyways? Will was going to kill Nico if he missed another meal.

He was alone at the archery range when the Iris-Message came. Five smiling cheerleaders appeared, with a metal leg and a donkey leg each and covered in blood, scrapes, and ichor. “Will! So nice to meet you!” the one in the middle smirked.

Will was wide-eyed in the range, staring at the message. These were Empousa, no doubt, but how were they calling him? “Wha... ho... how?” He stuttered, dropping his bow and stumbling backwards.

“Your boyfriend talks about you in his sleep, you know.” The Emposia moved out of the screen, revealing Nico blindfolded, shirtless, and covered in so much blood it was like a Jackson Pollock painting. His hands and feet were tied and he lay motionless on the ground. Will’s mouth ran dry.

He was on a concrete floor, he noticed, with brick walls behind him. The lighting was poor, so Will assumed Nico was captive indoors, probably in a warehouse of some kind. At a quick glance, Nico seemed to have broken his arm and dislocated his jaw, not to mention the nasty cut that extended from his waist to his collarbone. The sight of him like that made Will want to retch, and he had the stomach of an army doctor. “Will...” mumbled Nico. He was sleeping, with his face scrunched up like he was having a bad dream. Despite the situation, Will felt his heart soar when he heard Nico calling for him.

The Empousa stepped back into the Iris-Message’s view. “I have a deal, a game if you would.”

Will’s heart dropped. He knew there had to be a reason they didn’t kill Nico when they found him. “...I’m listening...” he replied hesitantly.

“If you can find us and rescue him in the next two days, you’ll both be free. If we capture you, we eat both of you. If we don’t catch you, but you didn’t rescue him, we’ll eat him. You must do this alone. Deal?” The Empousa smiled innocently.

Will remembered that the Empousa were the first vampires. They craved human flesh, specifically males, so they had a lucky find in him and Nico. “Why are you doing this?” he asked anyway.

The Empousa shrugged. “Bored.”

“Fine,” he relented, fearing further harm that would come to Nico if he refused. The poor child of Hades had been through so much already. “But I’m going to need a hint.”

The Empousa smiled wider. “Ask your friend Percy Jackson. Tell him his friend Kellie said hi, but remind him that I will kill this child unless you embark on this quest alone.” Kellie cut the connection wave of her hand. Will stood dumbstruck for a moment before he took off for the Big House, archery long forgotten.

...

Nico lay numb on a hard floor. There were noises, and he was hurt. Badly hurt. He was glad he could only feel a little bit because he was so groggy. “Will...” he cried. He wished the son of Apollo was there. He was confused, and when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything. It was just white. He could make out individual noises now, there were two voices having a heated discussion. One was unfamiliar, but he recognized the other, Will.

With a statement of finality from the unfamiliar voice, the conversation ended. He groaned. The pain was coming more acutely now. There was a huge sting along his side, and his arms and jaw throbbed. He was cold too, his jacket and T-shirt having been removed.

Nico tried desperately to remember what was going on. He remembered waking up in the infirmary, grabbing his sword, and leaving. He really had just meant to take a short walk, but he must’ve wandered out of the barrier on accident. He remembered a hard fight. Nico had killed at least two of them, but the monsters outnumbered him. After that, it was just bits and pieces.

“He’s awake,” hissed one voice.

Nico’s eyes searched for the source of the voice, but couldn’t because of the blindfold. “What’s going on, and why did I just hear Will?” Panic welled in his voice even as he tried to force it down.

Rough hands turned his head. He moaned as the blindfold fell away. He was on the floor, looking up at a group of cheerleaders. One look at their legs told him they were Empousa. He craned to look at his body, but it hurt so badly he just curled into a ball. He was sure of one thing though, he was laying in a puddle of his own blood and possibly suffering the worst physical wound he’d ever had.

“We made a deal,” replied the one clearly in charge. Nico was pretty sure she said her name was Christy. Or was it Cassie?

Nonetheless, her words worried him. “What deal?” His voice quivered as he spoke. Monsters seldom made fair deals.

“A challenge, his life at risk to save yours.” Will, you damn fool...

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. I know. Kelli. I needed a villain, ok? Basically what happened is they attacked Nico. They were about to eat him when he started muttering about Will. They decided: ‘Hey, let’s trap this Will kid too. He doesn’t stand a chance against all of us. Then we feast!’ Basically. Something like that.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and I’ll probably be updating every weekend. Tell me what you think in the comments, please!


End file.
